Given the current situation in the country and in line with thedecision taken by the President, I would like to take this opportunityto inform the country of the views of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa andthe Government dispelling the misconceptions about rice mill owners,rice traders and the rice shortage.
You are aware that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa issued a Gazette Notification on August 30 containing the emergency regulations underthe Public Security Ordinance in accordance with the powers vested inhim, regarding essential commodities including rice, flour and sugar.
This decision was taken by the President with the primary objective ofprotecting the consumers, discharging responsibility of apeople-friendly government. At the same time, a Commissioner Generalof Essential Services was appointed to coordinate and oversee thedistribution of consumer goods, including paddy, rice and sugar, inorder to maintain the livelihood of the people.
The proposal made by the President to enforce the emergencyregulations was also tabled in Parliament recently. The entire countrywitnessed that it was passed by a majority of 81 votes of people’srepresentatives.The government has taken up a gigantic challenge tocontrol the current Covid-19 situation. An amount of over Rs. 500billion has already been spent for this purpose.
All this shows that the government led by the President is committedto the people in the face of the current situation, in order to ensurethat the livelihood of the people is not disrupted. The Presidentwill never take any action to aggrieve any party when making thenecessary decisions in this regard.
From the very beginning, the government took measures to resolve theissue of rice by reaching an agreement with all stakeholders. Thegovernment expected a fair system that would protect the farmer, thebusinessman as well as the consumer. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa heldlengthy discussions with leading rice mill owners. Agreements werereached. The Ministers in charge of the subject as well as PrimeMinister Mahinda Rajapaksa held discussions with the businesscommunity.
The government set a guaranteed price for paddy, which was between Rs.30 to 32 per kilo, with the aim of strengthening the farmer community.Accordingly, approval has been granted to purchase a kilo of Nadu andKekulu paddy for Rs. 50, Samba at Rs.52 and Keeri Samba at Rs.55.
However, despite the guaranteed price for paddy, the market price ofrice rose and a kilo of Nadu rice sold at Rs. 125.00, a kilo of Sambarice at Rs. 150.00 and a kilo of Keeri Samba at Rs.225.00, leavingconsumers stranded.
It was then that the Commissioner-General of Essential Services, whowas appointed vesting full powers under the ‘Public SecurityOrdinance’, took measures to ensure maximum justice to the affectedpeople. Accordingly, guaranteed prices were gazetted and the maximumprice of a kilo of Samba rice is 103 rupees, while for Nadu it is 98rupees, a kilo of Kiri Samba rice is 125 rupees and a kilo of Kekulurice is 95 rupees.
You may recall that the business community then acknowledged thecrisis facing the country at this time and issued public statementsthat they will not take actions to put pressure on the government andwould act in accordance to overcome this calamity period. But,unfortunately, the agreements they entered with the government wereneglected.
At the same time, in the last few days, large-scale ricemill owners have reduced their daily rice production and distributionby more than 50%.It is a well acknowledged fact by everyone that this is an unbearableinjustice to the consumer, who is suffering from the COVID-19pandemic. During the raids carried out by the Commissioner-General ofEssential Services on September 08, 2021 alone, 807,375 kilograms ofrice were obtained from the rice warehouses owned by the large-scalemill owners at the government controlled price and handed over to theSathosa.You can easily understand the political agendas behind all theseactions, as the people who have once accused the large scale rice millowners of creating a rice mafia, are now coming forward to protectthem.
However, the President is of the view that a people-centric economyand a prosperous country will be built by making decisions inaccordance with the powers vested in the President for the welfare ofthe people, affirming the mandate and trust given by the people tobuild a secure country.